Farms Now Able to Enroll in the National Dairy Farm Program
October 4, 2010
Farms Now Able to Enroll in the National Dairy Farm Program
The National Dairy FARM Program: Farmers Assuring Responsible Management™ is now accepting enrollment in the Animal Care Program. This officially launches the second phase of the implementation process, which included the start of on-farm evaluations for participating producers. The National Dairy FARM Program, created by the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), provides consistency and uniformity to best practices in animal care and quality assurance in the dairy industry.
A participation fee is a shared responsibility for all participants of the National Dairy FARM Animal Care Program to fund the enrollment of on-farm data in a private database, as well as to pay for third-party verification of the program. While support for the development of educational training materials has been available from the national dairy check-off, such funding sources cannot be drawn upon for third-party verification.
“Producers can participate independently or through their cooperative or processor. Producers who are affiliated with a cooperative or proprietary processor should contact their representative to see if their milk marketing organization is participating in the program; or to encourage them to join in,” said Betsy Flores, NMPF Director of Regulatory Affairs. Participation information can be found at www.nationaldairyfarm.com.
To participate in the National Dairy FARM Program, producers, co-ops, processors, and state and regional dairy producer organizations can contact Betsy Flores at (703) 243-6111, or log on to www.nationaldairyfarm.com.
